College leadership heavily misses the mark
BY: LILLIAN THUM
Staff Writer
Recently on the St. Louis Community College Meramec campus, there were two major events that unfolded that challenged how our understanding of freedom of speech should be balanced with our expectations for a safe campus. The preacher, live-streaming on YouTube was only one faucet of discontent, with his rhetoric and hate speech against Muslims and transgender people, disgusted many of us at Meramec. In my humble opinion, I agree with the students who spoke with The Montage for this issue: the campus’ response to these events was lackluster, with an open forum for us to discuss the events with little action being taken, but many excuses made. (See related story on pgs. 1, 3, 4-5).
However, that’s only one issue of a multifaceted incident. Campus police also found themselves embroiled in scandal, with their verbal conduct toward students being called into question. Allegedly, one of the police officers in question has had many reports made about him for similar behavior but nothing has come from it. This is completely unacceptable behavior, especially when the officers in question have firearms and are charged with protecting students. Who is to say the officer in question wouldn’t fire at a student when given the chance? The response is always about protection, but most shooters are white supremacists and many officers are aligned with that.
What else has happened that went unreported, as students have suggested? Did the other officers protect them? The response is always “we will look into it” and “we are updating our rules” but arguably, it’s too late. Why were the rules not changed before this event occurred? Why is the bureaucracy so thick? Why are the staff not putting pressure on the bureaucracy? Challenge it! Organize! Work together with students to make a point that this is unacceptable! Saying “not all cops” is only an excuse. The saying of “all cops are bastards” specifically includes “all cops” for a reason.
The preacher outside of the Student Center was spewing incredibly hateful things. He was saying that many people are going to hell for simply existing as Muslim, for being gay or identifying as transgender. The man was not only using a bullhorn but was doxxing (revealing personal information including names and social media handles) queer and Muslim students. Students had to buddy up to feel safe.
The response to this was the Campus Forums held in Humanities East. I understand there are legal challenges as well as the ethics of free speech, but he was actively disrupting campus and threatening safety and the school barely did anything. Music that was played loudly to drown him out was turned off. Why were the rules not changed earlier? What actions are being taken to make it so students on this wonderfully diverse campus feel safe?
“It’s out of our hands” or “bureaucracy” is an excuse. You have freedom of speech too! Use it! Not only was he live-streaming, likely with ads, but the doxxing of students is simply inexcusable, and should not be allowed back onto the campus for that reason alone. In what world is that not a risk? How can students and staff feel safe if there are few steps taken to protect us?
STLCC is a conservative college with a progressive coat of paint.
